บท 651: Chance Encounter

It didn't take long after the arrival of Mightyena, a man in dark gray clothing arrieved on the scene in hurry.

"How's it going? Did they manage to escape again?" the man asked Mightyena.

The man appeared to be around twenty years old, tall, with a long scar running from his forehead vertically down through his eye, ending on his right cheek, giving him a fierce and terrifying appearance.

Mightyena, still focused on the high wall, turned back to glance at the man and nodded.

The wall in front of them was just too high for Mightyena. It didn't possess the exceptional jumping ability of Buneary, so it couldn't leap over.

"Keep searching. We can't let them get away," the man said after some thought and then headed out of the alley.

Mightyena silently followed behind him.

On the other side of the high wall, After Buneary fell from the wall while carrying Pachirisu, it landed gracefully on the ground thanks to its remarkable jumping ability, once again catching Pachirisu in the process.

Aware that someone was pursuing them, Buneary didn't waste any time. It held Pachirisu and began to run, not daring to stay in one place.

They ran through streets and alleys for what seemed like a long time until they reached the outskirts of the small town, near an abandoned factory.

Passing through the abandoned factory, Buneary found an uninhabited shack and took refuge inside with Pachirisu.

If Yuga were here now, he would surely recognize that the shack where Buneary and Pachirisu were hiding was the same place where Anya and Akihiro used to live. However, after Anya and Akihiro moved to the YoYo Day Care, this place became an abandoned shack.

And so, Buneary and Pachirisu settled down in the small shack.

On the seventh day after Yuga's Gym Challenge:

On this day, Yuga was attending to customers in the shop when she noticed Liliana patrolling outside with her Herdier.

This Herdier was a reward given to Liliana by her family after the incident involving the destruction of the Team Aqua Branch.

This Herdier, meticulously raised by Jenny's family, had outstanding talent, and it was specially transferred from the Unova Region.

After the incident with the Team Aqua Branch, Liliana received dual rewards from both the League and her family, reaping many benefits in the process.

"Miss Jenny, has anything unusual happened recently?" Yuga called out to Liliana while standing at the shop's entrance.

Liliana, being the police chief, rarely roamed the streets without good reason.

Seeing that even Liliana was mobilized, it indicated that something indeed was amiss.

As a Gym Leader for the Verdanturf Gym now, Yuga had a responsibility and duty to keep an eye on the town's public safety.

Upon hearing Yuga's question, Liliana contemplated for a moment and then approached him.

"Recently, some suspicious individuals have been wandering around town. I'm a bit concerned and wanted to see who these people are," she replied in a hushed tone, clearly not wanting others to overhear.

Originally, she hadn't intended to inform Yuga directly about this matter, as she only had a vague sense that something was off, and nothing had actually happened.

"Well, now that you mention it..."

Upon hearing Liliana's words, Yuga also found it strange.

According to reports from the Natus, there had been frequent sightings of unfamiliar people loitering near the YoYo Day Care and the Verdanturf Gym lately. Moreover, these individuals appeared to be acting suspiciously.

However, they were merely suspicious, as they hadn't actually done anything wrong, so Yuga couldn't take any action against them.

These people were all unfamiliar faces and not local residents of Verdanturf Town.

Yuga decided to share his findings with Liliana.

Liliana did not expect that Yuga also noticed the abnormality and continued, "I'll keep a close watch on this matter. Please do the same, Gym Leade Shimizu."

Yuga nodded in response. "I will keep a close eye on it as well. If there's anything you need assistance with, please inform me immediately."

Liliana nodded and bid farewell to Yuga before continuing her patrol with her Herdier.

Yuga had been quite busy these days, preparing for the upcoming bidding, and he hadn't expected this added complication.

Shaking his head, Yuga was about to enter the shop when he suddenly caught sight of a man with a long scar on his face.

The man glanced at Yuga briefly and then averted his gaze, but Yuga pretended not to notice him.

Yuga had been aware of this man's presence for a while; he had been lingering nearby, and the Natus had spotted him more than once.

After the scarred man left, Yuga signaled to a Natu perched on his roof. The bird instantly appeared before him.

"Keep an eye on him. If you notice anything unusual, let me know," Yuga whispered to the Natu.

The Natu nodded and then disappeared using Teleport.

After helping a few more customers in the shop, Yuga suddenly remembered that he hadn't collected the mutated Jaboca Berry potion he had requested from the Pokémon Center. He had just cultivated the second batch of mutated Jaboca Berries, and it had matured the day before.

Yesterday, at the Pokémon Center, he and Joyka had worked together to create the potion. Joyka had expressed a desire to further study the potion's ingredients, so Yuga had left it with her.

This second batch of mutated Jaboca Berries had produced only one berry and, subsequently, one potion. Still, Yuga was quite satisfied with the results.

Good things were always hard to come by. With this potion, a Gligar with the Blue potential could be born into the Gligar family.

Having obtained the potion, Yuga happily made his way back. However, as he passed an intersection, he noticed something black wriggling on the ground, sparking his curiosity.

Upon closer inspection, he saw that it was a dirty Pachirisu, and it didn't seem to be in good shape.

"How did a Pachirisu end up here?" Yuga wondered aloud.

Pachirisu was a Pokémon native to the Sinnoh region, so it was quite unusual to find one in the Hoenn region.

Yuga was about to approach the weakened Pachirisu when it suddenly stood up, looking wary, and focused its gaze on him.

Yuga finally got a clear look at the Pachirisu. It was indeed in poor condition, and he couldn't help but wonder if it had been abandoned.

This situation reminded Yuga of the time he had encountered the abandoned Vivillon.

Looking at the weak Pachirisu, Yuga extended his hand and said, "It seems you're injured. Let me take a look and see if I can help."

Yuga had developed some basic healing abilities thanks to his special powers. He wanted to provide some initial treatment to the Pachirisu before taking it to the Pokémon Center to see Joyka.

However, the Pachirisu was highly alert.

Before Yuga's hand could reach it, a blue electric discharge quickly shot out and struck Yuga's arm, causing a tingling sensation.

Reacting instinctively, Yuga withdrew his hand and felt the numbing sensation in his arm. He looked at the Pachirisu and said, "I mean no harm; I just want to help."

With the unique energy surrounding his hand, Yuga cautiously approached the weakened Pachirisu once more.

The Pachirisu appeared extremely frail, and Yuga feared it could collapse at any moment.